


About episode 4x02: Alone Together (Meta)

by LouiseLouise



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 9-1-1 s04e02, F/M, Gen, Mentions of all the characters who appears in the episode, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29135616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise
Summary: My thoughts about episode 4x02: Alone Together
Relationships: Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	About episode 4x02: Alone Together (Meta)

**Author's Note:**

> **This is not a spoiler free review!**
> 
> Thank you [marciaelena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marciaelena) for the beta! All remaining mistakes are mine, English is not my first language.

So my first impression on this episode wasn’t that good. I think I expected something bigger, like all the disaster episodes before, and I felt like this was closer to a regular episode, with regular calls who just happen to be during a mudslide, even if the team was still split in half to respond to multiple calls at the same time.

Maybe the mudslide just felt less impressive than the earthquake and the tsunami, I don’t know.

But after rewatching it twice, I managed to focus on all the moments I did love, so here we go.

I love the shift coming from splitting up Hen and Chim, changing the usual dynamics of the team. It gave us the opportunity to follow up on the ‘Chim is still living with Buck’ issue as Buck and Chim worked, and talked, together.

_**“Just being able to reach out, and have someone take my hand”** _

I feel like this sentence applies to most of the stories in this episode, something about needing help, and being stronger together.

While Buck looks like he’s judging Chimney’s choice, and is maybe impatient to get his apartment back to himself, he’s actually very supportive of Chim as a father, telling him to trust himself more, and that conversation opens the way to Chim changing his mind about living with Maddie. 

Chim jokes, like he always does. Here it’s obvious he’s deflecting, hiding all his fears about becoming a parent. Considering how his own father treated him, that’s not really a surprise, but he also had a good role model in the Lees, and he now has Buck on his side, too.

And then he has to deliver a baby in a house caught in the mudslide and things get very real. And not in a subtle way, contrary to what the show usually does. I mean, that adoption ring? It felt a bit too much. But it’s still a nice way to help Chim realize that Maddie must be scared, facing her pregnancy on her own. That they’re lucky to have each other, but that only works if he’s actually there, by her side.

So he holds out his hand to Maddie and she takes it, and then they can go back to being the cutest cuties we’ve ever seen.

_**“I don’t need you to be brave, I need you to trust me”** _

What Athena says to Sylvia could also apply to Chim with Maddie. I loved how both stories were told parallel to each other, showing two people helping one another through their struggles, learning from one another. Athena wasn’t ready to go back on the field, she wasn’t ready to admit her own fears, but she made it out alive and she helped Sylvia, not just physically but also by sharing those fears and secrets with her. I think saying them out loud helped her take a step in the right direction.

I found it interesting to see Athena repeat with May the pattern of her mom wanting to see her daughter go to college to get a law degree and being upset when she changed her plans. And May, somehow, repeats what Athena did, changing plans because of someone. Her someone is her mother, when Athena’s someone was Emmett.

But Athena listens to May, who wants to try and make a difference in her own way, which is why Athena stayed on the force after Emmett’s death, so we can imagine that she understands.

Their conversations in the kitchen echoes that of Hen and Athena in season 3, when Hen pointed that the kids were probably worried about Athena all the time, and Athena dismissed it, like it was nothing (compared to Michael fighting cancer). Turns out, Hen was right, and May does worry.

_**“Borrow for luck”** _

Meanwhile Hen is just done with everyone’s nonsense. Chim’s dad jokes. The roommates’ soap opera. _Done_. I absolutely loved her face throughout the entire scene, very expressive despite the mask. 

So it seems like she’s gonna juggle with many things this season, her shifts with the 118, her adorable foster kid and starting her online classes. Which implies that she rocked her MCAT and I hope she had a celebration, even a Zoom or very safely-distancing one. I loved her preparing for her orientation class and then… just crossing the living room to take it online, with her serious look and the unicorn plush ‘for luck’ next to her. It was funny and very realistic.

_**“Always”** _

Okay, maybe it’s just me, but Bobby looks chirpy this entire episode. Even when he’s looking for Athena and worried, there’s something about him that feels lighter than before. Maybe it’s just the make-up and light effects, I don’t know, but the way he talks about how he took a tour when he moved to LA sounds playful. He looks happy and relaxed. In the middle of a pandemic and a mudslide, he looks like he’s enjoying life.

And he’s not the only one. Like last week, Buck’s still glowing. There’s something in the way he’s filmed that makes him look somewhat small and vulnerable as he opens to his therapist, yet it feels like he’s stronger than ever as he moves forward with his life. By the way, kudos to some more positive representation of going to therapy, and kudos to Buck for taking care of himself.

I also felt that he seems to take the lead on the field multiple times. Like tagging the deceased and moving on, telling Chim what to do to get to the baby, explaining how they’re going to get the women out… Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but could that lead him to taking more responsibilities in the team? 

_**“Invisible strings”** _

That moment where Eddie falls asleep with Chris, listening to the story was so soft. He looked so peaceful and relaxed in that instant, and I hope we get to see more of that in the future.

I’m so happy we get to see Carla!! [That story](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22407.The_Invisible_String)’s so adorable and meaningful, and of course resonated with the overall theme of the episode.

People being connected to one another, being there for each other. Being there for themselves.

_**“What needs to change is me”** _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading this meta! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! (just keep in mind that I try to avoid spoilers for upcoming episodes, if you want to comment)
> 
> You can find it [on tumblr](https://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/post/641940509591535616/about-episode-4x02-alone-together-meta).
> 
> Like always, I treasure every kudos, emoji and comment ♥


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